The Wombles (Young Childrens Fiction): Elisabeth Beresford, Ivor Wood: 9780744517330: Amazon.com: Books on November 2, 1999 Format: Hardcover Published back in 1968, this was the very first of five Wombles novels written by Elisabeth Beresford. It's a well crafted, witty, and endearing work, intended for the older reader (8-11) and establishes the Wombles as the inventive, cunning and ecologically minded creatures that have charmed the hearts of millions. The TV series that followed watered down some of the detail and narrative in this book to suit the attention span and comprehension of younger viewers, but this is the Wombles as they were originally conceived. In fact, if all you have known of the Wombles is their TV series and short story picture books, then you are in for a bit of a surprise as you will find them to be far more sophisticated and inspired characters than one would gather from the TV series.

In addition, without belabouring the point too strongly, Elisabeth Beresford manages to call attention to the wastefulness and alienation of human society, contrasting it against the resourcefulness and camaraderie of the Wombles. This was one of the very first childrens' books to introduce ecological concerns into its narrative and it succeeds without being "preachy". Come to think of it, the Womble maxim of "making good use of bad rubbish" has never been more appropriate or timely than for our own society... Elisabeth Beresford: Children's author who created the Wombles | The Independent Elisabeth Beresford: Children's author who created the Wombles Monday 3 January 2011 00:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online Elisabeth Beresford was inspired to create the Wombles by her daughter's mispronunciation during a Boxing Day romp across Wimbledon Common. The idea blossomed and the children's books and highly successful television series went on to conquer the world, being translated into over 40 languages.

The Wombles' motto, "Make Good Use of Bad Rubbish", and their passion for recycling was years ahead of its time and captured the imagination of children everywhere, who began to organise Womble Clearing Up Groups. In all, 35 five-minute films were broadcast on BBC1, accompanied by Mike Batt's music and The Wombles theme song, "Underground, Overground, Wombling Free". There was even pop chart success with "Remember You're a Womble", which reached No 4 in 1974, and then again in 2000 with "I Wish It Could Be a Wombling Merry Christmas Every Day". The inspiration had come to Beresford when, in order to give her parents-in-law some quiet after Christmas, she took her two young children to Wimbledon Common to let off some steam. While there, her daughter Kate shouted, "Ma, isn't it great on Wombledon Common?" Beresford recalled thinking, "that's it, that's where the Wombles come from." That same day, she made a list of names and based each Womble on a different family member.

At the head of the Womble hierarchy was Great Uncle Bulgaria, based on her father-in-law; Tobermory was based on her brother (a skilled inventor); Orinoco her son; and Madame Cholet Coburg-Womble was inspired by her royalty-obsessed mother. The Wombles' names came from sources as different as the town where Beresford's daughter went on a French exchange and the name of the college attended by a nephew. The first Wombles book was published in 1968, and the stories made their television debut the same year, broadcast on BBC1's Jackanory series. The BBC were delighted by the response and decided to make an animated series. They were, however, less enamoured by Beresford's own character drawings. Thus, the head of children's programming, Monica Sims, commissioned the puppeteer Ivor Wood to create the Womble characters and direct the series. He later animated Paddington Bear and Postman Pat. After some set-backs, Wood's designs for creatures with long pointed snouts, thick prehensile fingers and ill-fitting costumes and headgear were accepted.

Characterised by actor Bernard Cribbins's wonderful voices, the first animated series of The Wombles appeared on the nation's screens in 1973. It was an overnight success and the series soon went global. As its popularity grew, fan-mail arrived by the sackful and Beresford found herself on live phone-ins and travelling all over the world. She was tireless in promoting these initiatives around the world, as well as supporting the cause of recycling. Wombles mania took hold during the 1970s and 80s, spawning all sorts of merchandising including soft toys, mugs, annuals, soaps and stationery – a relatively rare feat at the time. Beresford wrote 20 Wombles books, which were sold worldwide, and she adapted the stories into a stage show herself (1974), one version of which ran in the West End. This was followed by the film Wombling Free (1977), directed by Lionel Jeffries and starring David Tomlinson, Frances de la Tour and Bonnie Langford.

In 1998, on the 25th anniversary of their first TV appearance, the Wombles were relaunched in a cartoon version. The food chain McDonald's even went so far as to give away nearly 13 million collectible mini-Wombles in a four-week Happy Meal promotion in 1999. Wombles character Orinoco subsequently featured in several other McDonald's promotions. Although the family home was in England, Elisabeth "Liza" Beresford was born on 6 August 1926 in Paris, where her family had moved to avoid the Inland Revenue. Her father, John Davys Beresford, was himself a successful author and critic. Perhaps her destiny was foretold, as she grew up around the Edwardian literary greats; her parents' friends included H G Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Rudyard Kipling, Hugh Walpole, Somerset Maugham and D H Lawrence. Her godfather was the poet Walter de la Mare and the children's writer Eleanor Farjeon was her godmother.

Despite witnessing the comings and goings of the literary geniuses of the time, Beresford seldom had the chance to speak to them – it was an era when children were "seen and not heard". The house, however, was full of books and soon she became a compulsive reader. Beresford was still a child when her father ran off with another woman, forcing her mother, Beatrice, to move the family to Brighton, where they took in lodgers to make ends meet. Despite this, Beresford corresponded in secret with her father until his death in 1947, although her mother burnt the letters when she stumbled across them years later. Educated at St Mary's Hall and Brighton and Hove High School, Beresford trained as a shorthand typist and then served for 18 months as a wireless telegraphist in the Women's Royal Naval Service towards the end of the Second World War. Following a stint as a ghostwriter, specialising in speeches for the rich and famous, she trained as a journalist in the 1950s.

Her work soon led to writing radio, film and television columns, including in Woman's Weekly and Punch, and working for the BBC as a radio reporter on the Today programme and Woman's Hour among others. She later admitted that it was a somewhat hit-and-miss career – and so she coupled this with writing fiction, as she found herself having to support her family. This included her husband Max Robertson, the sports commentator, whom she had married in 1949 and who was out of work, her mother, who was in a nursing home, and their two children, Kate and Marcus. Beresford's first book for children, The Television Mystery, was published in 1957, and she wrote over 45 more. Her first for adults was published in 1963; these were largely what she described as "romantic thrillers", although they were never hugely successful. Her last romance was A Passionate Adventure (1983). In 1964, Beresford had her first children's series success when Awkward Magic was published; another eight were to follow.

Beresford was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature in the 1998 New Year's Honours List. Beresford died on 24 December at the Mignot Memorial Hospital on Alderney in the Channel Islands following heart failure, aged 84. Elisabeth Beresford, writer: born Paris 6 August 1926; married 1949 Max Robertson (divorced 1984, died 2009, one son, one daughter); died Alderney, Channel Islands 24 December 2010. More about: The Wombles becoming (Wimbledon) common again with new film and TV show | Film | The Guardian Movies The Wombles becoming (Wimbledon) common again with new film and TV show Mike Batt reveals big plans for the furry orange eco-creatures from Wimbledon Common, including a movie, new series and 'interactive experience' An almost complete set of Wombles. Photograph: ITV / Rex Features Close This article is 3 years old Missing believed lost on Wimbledon common, the Wombles could be set for a big-screen return under the auspices of co-creator Mike Batt.

The gentle, point-nosed eco-activists were a mainstay of British television in the 1970s, going on to enjoy film and chart success. And now, it seems, they could be back. The British songwriter Batt recently gained a controlling interest in Wombling Copyright Holdings, the company that owns the creatures and is now angling for a major relaunch. Batt previously enjoyed a 50-50 share of the company with the estate of the author Elizabeth Beresford, who wrote the original Wombles story back in 1968. Ex Wizzard singer Roy Wood with Madame Cholet at a photo call to launch the Wombles christmas single, I Wish It Could Be A Wombling Merry Christmas Every Day in 1973 Photograph: Peter Jordan/PA Archive/PA Photos "We have plans for two new 26-part TV series, a feature-length movie and an interactive Womble World experience," announced Batt.

He added: "We think there are audiences of new children and international audiences who missed the Wombles the first time around and will be thrilled to see the brilliant high-quality animations and new musical productions we shall be mounting." Batt cut his teeth writing songs for the Wombles' BBC TV show in the mid-1970s. The Wombles went on to enjoy a string of UK chart hits, including Remember You're a Womble, and featured in the 1977 movie Wombling Free, which co-starred Frances de la Tour and Bonnie Langford. Character profile for The Wombles from The Wombles (page 1) Join The Wombles The Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways. Wombles were created by author Elisabeth Beresford, and originally appeared in a series of children's novels from 1968. Although Wombles supposedly live in every country in the world, Beresford's stories are concerned with the lives of the inhabitants of the burrow on Wimbledon Common in London, England.

One Christmas, Elisabeth Beresford took her young children for a Boxing Day walk on Wimbledon Common, where one referred to it as "Wombledon Common." On getting home, Elisabeth Beresford wrote down the idea and started developing the characters and storylines. The characters became nationally famous in the UK in the mid 1970s as a result of a very popular BBC children's television show using stop motion animation. A number of spin-off novelty songs also became major hits in the British music charts. The Wombles (band) w …more [close] The Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways. Wombles were created by author Elisabeth Beresford, and originally appeared in a series of children's novels from 1968. Although Wombles supposedly live in every country in the world, Beresford's stories are concerned with the lives of the inhabitants of the burrow on Wimbledon Common in London, England.

One Christmas, Elisabeth Beresford took her young children for a Boxing Day walk on Wimbledon Common, where one referred to it as "Wombledon Common." On getting home, Elisabeth Beresford wrote down the idea and started developing the characters and storylines. The characters became nationally famous in the UK in the mid 1970s as a result of a very popular BBC children's television show using stop motion animation. A number of spin-off novelty songs also became major hits in the British music charts. The Wombles (band) was the brainchild of British music writer and composer, Mike Batt. The Womble motto is "Make Good Use of Bad Rubbish." This green message was a reflection of the growing ecology movement of the 1970s. Beresford developed the characters around members of her family, and named them after places the family had associations with: Great Uncle Bulgaria - the Wombles' leader, was based on Beresford's father-in-law and named after the country of the same name.

Tobermory - an engineer, was based on Beresford's brother, a skilled inventor, and named after the capital of the Isle of Mull, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides islands. Orinoco - a shirker who loved sleep and food, was styled on Beresford's teenage son and named after the River Orinoco in South America. Bungo - over-enthusiastic and bossy named after Bungo Province in Japan. Tomsk - an athletic Womble with a rather low IQ named after Tomsk in Russia. Wellington - scientifically inclined, but very insecure and absent-minded. Named after her nephew's school: Wellington School, Somerset. Madame Cholet - a cook, was styled on Beresford's mother, named after the town of Cholet in France. Miss Adelaide - schoolmistress, named after the city of Adelaide in Australia. Alderney - Madame Cholet's assistant, was named after Alderney in the Channel Islands where Beresford lived towards the end of her life. She appeared in the early books, but did not make it into the first TV series.

Her character was revived in the second TV series, when many viewers wrongly assumed she was a new character. edit descriptions of this character Wombles Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit The Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, rodent-like, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways. Wombles were created by author Elizabeth Beresford , and originally appeared in a series of children's novels from 1968. Although Wombles supposedly live in every country in the world, Beresford's stories are concerned with the lives of the inhabitants of the burrow on Wimbledon Common in London, England. The characters became nationally famous in the UK in the mid 1970s as a result of a very popular BBC children's television show using stop motion animation. A number of spin-off novelty songs also became major hits in the British music charts. The Wombles (band) was the brainchild of British music writer and composer, Mike Batt. The Womble motto is "Make Good Use of Bad Rubbish." This green message was a reflection of the growing ecology movement of the 1970s.

Background Edit Elisabeth Beresford was a freelance ghost writer and children's book author. She was born in Paris and travelled the world with her BBC sports commentator husband Max Robertson. One Christmas, Elisabeth Beresford took her young children for a Boxing Day walk on Wimbledon Common, where one referred to it as "Wombledon Common." On getting home, Elisabeth Beresford wrote down the idea and started developing the characters and storylines. Characters Edit Beresford developed the characters around members of her family, and named them after places the family had associations with. This is the list of young wombles: Orinoco - a shirker who loved sleep and food, styled on Beresford's teenage son and named after the River Orinoco in South America. Bungo - over-enthusiastic and bossy, named after Bungo Province in Japan. Wellington - scientifically inclined, but very insecure and absent-minded. Named after her nephew's school: Wellington School, Somerset. Tomsk - an athletic Womble with a rather low IQ, named after Tomsk in Russia.

Alderney - Madame Cholet's assistant, named after Alderney in the Channel Islands where Beresford lived towards the end of her life. She appeared in the early books, but did not make it into the first TV series . Her character was revived in the second TV series , when many viewers wrongly assumed she was a new character Shansi - often paired with Alderney, as Bungo was with Orinoco, named after a Shanxi province in China. She was also not seen until the second TV series. Stepney - East Ender with dreadlocks, who got his name from the Stepney area in London's East End where he came from. He was also not seen until the second TV series. Obidos - named after Óbidos, Pará in Brazil. Moosonee - Tomsk's penpal, named after a place in James Bay in Canada. This is the list of old wombles: Great Uncle Bulgaria - the Wombles' leader, based on Beresford's father-in-law and named after the country.

Tobermory - an engineer, based on Beresford's brother, a skilled inventor, and named after the capital of the Isle of Mull, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides islands. Madame Cholet - a cook, styled on Beresford's mother and named after the town of Cholet in France. Cairngorm MacWomble the Terrible - named after the Cairngorms, a mountain range in Scotland. He was introduced in the second book (The Wandering Wombles) as a Highland Womble clan chief. He appeared in the TV series when he visited the Wimbledon burrow. Nanny Alexandria - Great Uncle Bulgaria's nanny, named after the ancient city in Egypt. Livingstone - an explorer, named after the British explorer Dr Livingstone. Hoboken - an American tourist, named after a place in Belgium. In the first book, Bungo is the youngest and least experienced of the team, and the story is mostly viewed through his eyes. Later Wellington (who was not introduced until the second book) took over the role of "new boy". Alderney and Adelaide appeared in the earlier books but were not included in the original 1970s TV series.

Alderney was re-introduced in the later TV shows produced in the 1990s (the Channel Island of Alderney was actually Elisabeth Beresford's home at the time), along with Stepney (who appeared in none of the earlier versions). The Storyline Edit Though it is stated that Wombles live all around the world, the collection upon which Beresford's collection of stories, as well as the television series and the music, are based, is the group living in Wimbledon Common in London, England. Below a certain age, all Wombles are nameless. Upon coming of age, a Womble chooses his name by looking through Great Uncle Bulgaria's large atlas until they find a name that suits them. Some, like Bungo, "merely shut their eyes tight and point and hope for the best". They then leave Miss Adelaide's "Womblegarten" and join in the communal work of the burrow, which is mostly clearing up and recycling human refuse. The life expectancy of a Womble is over 200 years, with some reaching 300 (which would make them the longest-lived of all animal species).

Wombles are vegetarians (herbivores more precisely) and are very fond of mushrooms. They eat a variety of plants, fungi, and tree products that Human Beings cannot, or will not, eat. So daisy buns, acorn juice, fir-cone soufflé, elm bark casserole and grassbread sandwiches are part of the Womble menu - augmented by any food left behind on the Common by Human Beings. Wombles are very careful to keep their existence secret from Human Beings - at least in the books and TV series. In the movie Wombling Free this is reversed as the Wombles seek to get Human Beings to listen to their "make good use of bad rubbish" pleas. Otherwise secrecy is the rule, though there have been a few exceptions, such as Mr. Smith, a lonely senior citizen who is invited inside the Wombles burrow on Christmas Eve. They generally have a low opinion of other animals, though kind to them. They especially have a poor opinion of Human Beings, with the exception of royalty, especially the Queen. They dislike lies and lying, though on occasion they are known to stretch the truth or omit important details.

There are other species and burrows of Wombles discovered throughout the series of books. The Loch Ness monster is revealed to be a clan of water Wombles and the yeti of the Himalayas are revealed to be giant snow-white Wombles. Wombles have a sixth sense which allows them to sense green spaces and wildlife, first mentioned in The Wandering Wombles, but developed to a keen long range telepathic sense by Dalai Gartok Womble in The Wombles Go Round The World. Wombles also apparently have retractable claws like cats, although they rarely use them. In the original editions of the books the Wombles are pictured as bear-like and between 4 and 5 feet (about 1.5 metres) in height. Their size and appearance changed with the TV series, where they are portrayed as about knee high with pointy snouts, much like a raccoon's (although raccoons are not native to Britain). In the book and movie Wombling Free they are described as "short, fat, and furry", roughly between three or four feet (about 1 metre) in height.

Children's novels The Wombles at Work (1973) The Wombles to the Rescue (1974) The Wombles Go Round the World (1976) All of these were out of print for many years, but through 2010 and 2011 they were re-issued by Bloomsbury with all-new illustrations. The last two books are less well known than the original three, perhaps because they appeared after the successful television series began. In The Wandering Wombles, the setting moved from Wimbledon Common to Hyde Park in central London. However The Wombles to the Rescuesaw them return to Wimbledon Common. Four of the books were illustrated by Margaret Gordon. The Wombles at Work (1973) was illustrated by Barry Leith. The appearance of the Wombles in the books followed the design of the Ivor Wood TV puppets, with the exception of The Wombles(1968) which preceded the TV series and depicted the Wombles as teddy bear-like creatures.

Wombles appearing in the books included: Great Uncle Bulgaria Free The Wombles biography | SONG365 Overview Biography Albums Tracks Biography of The Wombles The Wombles are fictional characters created by British author Elisabeth Beresford, originally appearing in a series of children’s novels from 1968. Wombles are pointy-nosed furry creatures (though the characters in the original books resembled ordinary ‘teddy bears’) that live in burrows, where they help the environment by recycling rubbish in useful and ingenious ways. This “green” message was ahead of its time in the 1970s, though shared at the time by the popular science-fiction programme Doctor Who. Although Wombles live in every country in the world, the stories focus on the life of the Wimbledon Common burrow in London, England. Beresford reportedly invented the name “Womble” when one of her children referred to Wimbledon Common as “Wombledon Common”; “womble” is, to some, an inherently funny word. “Wombles” is also a nickname of AFC Wimbledon. Fans have many terrace songs in which “Wombles” are referred to.

All the songs were written and performed by Mike Batt. Top Tracks By The Wombles 1 The Wombles : definition of The Wombles and synonyms of The Wombles (English) Audiobook The Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways. Wombles were created by author Elisabeth Beresford , and originally appeared in a series of children's novels from 1968. [1] Although Wombles supposedly live in every country in the world, Beresford's stories are concerned with the lives of the inhabitants of the burrow on Wimbledon Common in London, England. The characters became nationally famous in the UK in the mid 1970s as a result of a very popular BBC children's television show using stop motion animation . A number of spin-off novelty songs also became major hits in the British music charts. The Wombles (band) was the brainchild of British music writer and composer, Mike Batt . The Womble motto is "Make Good Use of Bad Rubbish." This green message was a reflection of the growing ecology movement of the 1970s.

[2] Contents 12 External links Background Elisabeth Beresford was a freelance ghost writer and children's book author. She was born in Paris and travelled the world with her BBC sports commentator husband Max Robertson . [3] One Christmas, Elisabeth Beresford took her young children for a Boxing Day walk on Wimbledon Common, where one referred to it as "Wombledon Common." On getting home, Elisabeth Beresford wrote down the idea and started developing the characters and storylines. [4] Characters L-R Great Uncle Bulgaria, Bungo and Stepney (plus unknown in picture on wall), in one of the rooms in the burrow. Photo taken at National Media Museum , Bradford , UK. Beresford developed the characters around members of her family, and named them after places the family had associations with: [5] [6] Great Uncle Bulgaria – the Wombles' leader, based on Beresford's father-in-law and named after the country . [2] Tobermory – an engineer, based on Beresford's brother, a skilled inventor, and named after the capital of the Isle of Mull , in the Scottish Inner Hebrides islands.

Orinoco – a shirker who loved sleep and food, styled on Beresford's teenage son and named after the River Orinoco in South America. Bungo – over-enthusiastic and bossy, named after Bungo Province in Japan. Tomsk – an athletic Womble with a rather low IQ, named after Tomsk in Russia. Wellington – scientifically inclined, but very insecure and absent-minded. Named after her nephew's school: Wellington School, Somerset . Madame Cholet – a cook, styled on Beresford's mother and named after the town of Cholet in France. Miss Adelaide – schoolmistress, named after the city of Adelaide in Australia. Alderney – Madame Cholet's assistant, named after Alderney in the Channel Islands where Beresford lived towards the end of her life. She appeared in the early books, but did not make it into the first TV series. Her character was revived in the second TV series, when many viewers wrongly assumed she was a new character.

Later character names for the film Wombling Free and second Wombles TV series developed in the same manner: Cousin Cairngorm McWomble the Terrible – named after the Cairngorms , a mountain range in Scotland. He was introduced in the second book (The Wandering Wombles) as a Highland Womble clan chief. He appeared in the TV series when he visited the Wimbledon burrow. Shansi – often paired with Alderney, as Bungo was with Orinoco, named after a Shanxi province in China . Stepney – East Ender with dreadlocks , who got his name from the Stepney area in London's East End where he came from. Obidos – named after Óbidos, Pará in Brazil. In the first book, Bungo is the youngest and least experienced of the team, and the story is mostly viewed through his eyes. Later Wellington (who was not introduced until the second book) took over the role of "new boy". Alderney and Adelaide appeared in the earlier books but were not included in the original 1970s TV series.

Alderney was re-introduced in the later TV shows produced in the 1990s (the Channel Island of Alderney was actually Elisabeth Beresford's home at the time), along with Stepney (who appeared in none of the earlier versions). The Storyline Though it is stated that Wombles live all around the world, the collection upon which Beresford's collection of stories, as well as the television series and the music, are based, is the group living in Wimbledon Common in London, England. Below a certain age, all Wombles are nameless. Upon coming of age, a Womble chooses his name by looking through Great Uncle Bulgaria's large atlas until they find a name that suits them. Some, like Bungo, "merely shut their eyes tight and point and hope for the best." [7] They then leave Miss Adelaide's "Womblegarten" and join in the communal work of the burrow, which is mostly clearing up and recycling human refuse. The life expectancy of a Womble is over 200 years, with some reaching 300 (which would make them the longest-lived of all animal species).

Wombles are vegetarians (herbivores more precisely) and are very fond of mushrooms. They eat a variety of plants, fungi, and tree products that Human Beings cannot, or will not, eat. So daisy buns, acorn juice, fir-cone soufflé, elm bark casserole and grassbread sandwiches are part of the Womble menu - augmented by any food left behind on the Common by Human Beings. Wombles are very careful to keep their existence secret from Human Beings - at least in the books and TV series. In the movie Wombling Free this is reversed as the Wombles seek to get Human Beings to listen to their "make good use of bad rubbish" pleas. Otherwise secrecy is the rule, though there have been a few exceptions, such as Mr. Smith, a lonely senior citizen who is invited inside the Wombles burrow on Christmas Eve. [8] They generally have a low opinion of other animals, though kind to them. They especially have a poor opinion of Human Beings, with the exception of royalty, especially the Queen. They dislike lies and lying, though on occasion they are known to stretch the truth or omit important details.

There are other species and burrows of Wombles discovered throughout the series of books. The Loch Ness monster is revealed to be a clan of water Wombles and the yeti of the Himalayas are revealed to be giant snow-white Wombles. Wombles have a sixth sense which allows them to sense green spaces and wildlife, first mentioned in the Wandering Wombles, but developed to a keen long range telepathic sense by Dalai Gartok Womble in The Wombles Go Round The World. Wombles also apparently have retractable claws like cats, although they rarely use them. In the original editions of the books the Wombles are pictured as bear-like and between 4 and 5 feet (about 1.5 metres) in height. Their size and appearance changed with the TV series, where they are portrayed as about knee high with pointy snouts, much like a raccoon 's (although raccoons are not native to Britain). In the book and movie Wombling Free they are described as "short, fat, and furry", roughly between three or four feet (about 1 metre) in height.

Children's novels The Wombles at Work (1973) The Wombles to the Rescue (1974) The Wombles Go Round the World (1976) All of these were out of print for many years, but through 2010 and 2011 they were re-issued by Bloomsbury with all-new illustrations. The last two books are less well known than the original three, perhaps because they appeared after the successful television series began. In The Wandering Wombles, the setting moved from Wimbledon Common to Hyde Park in central London. However The Wombles to the Rescue saw them return to Wimbledon Common. Four of the books were illustrated by Margaret Gordon. The Wombles at Work (1973) was illustrated by Barry Leith. The appearance of the Wombles in the books followed the design of the Ivor Wood TV puppets, with the exception of The Wombles (1968) which preceded the TV series and depicted the Wombles as teddy bear-like creatures.

Wombles appearing in the books included: Great Uncle Bulgaria Cousin Tokyo Hirado Beresford also wrote a collection of short stories entitled The Invisible Womble and Other Stories (1973), in which the original Wimbledon Common setting was restored. Although based on episodes from the TV series, these stories occasionally refer to events in the novels. In addition to these books, a great many annuals, picture-books and children's early readers have been published over the years, some of which were also written by Elisabeth Beresford. [9] Television A stop motion animated series was made between 1973 and 1975. [10] Further animated episodes were made in 1998-1999. [1] Music Songwriter and producer Mike Batt wrote the series' theme tune, and later went on to perform and produce a number of highly successful novelty singles as The Wombles in the 1970s. [1] Film Main article: Wombling Free A feature-length live-action movie Wombling Free was released in 1977, starring The Wombles, David Tomlinson , Frances de la Tour and introducing Bonnie Langford .

A soundtrack album was released in 1978. A region 2 DVD of the film was released by Network DVD in 2006, containing the film in its theatrical aspect ratio, the original theatrical trailer, and archive interviews with Bonnie Langford , David Tomlinson and writer/director Lionel Jeffries . [11] Other appearances The Wombles starred in a number of British comics including Teddy Bear (1973), Jack and Jill (1973–81), a number of holiday specials, and as the interval act at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 . The Wombles were exported to American audiences in the late 1970s when they made occasional appearances on CBS' Captain Kangaroo . The Wombles are popular in the MUD world, particularly on Discworld MUD . [12] In 2009 The Wombles featured in " The Official BBC Children in Need Medley " which reached No.1 in the UK singles charts . In 2011 The Wombles performed at Glastonbury. [13] The Wombles and sport "Haydon" the mascot of AFC Wimbledon .

Due to the Wombles' association with the area, some local sporting teams representing Wimbledon are sometimes affectionately dubbed "the Wombles". These teams include the Ladies side of Wimbledon RFC [14] (whose mascot is Alderney), Wimbledon Volleyball Club and the Wombles Netball Club. [15] From 2000 to June 2003, Wimbledon F.C. used a Womble named "Wandle" as a club mascot after the local River Wandle . However, in light of the controversy over the moving of the club to Milton Keynes , the licence to use the character was not renewed. [16] In 2006 the club's spiritual successor AFC Wimbledon agreed a licensing deal, and launched its own Womble mascot. After a naming competition in which the final name was chosen by Elisabeth Beresford herself, the club announced that the new Womble would be known as "Haydon," after Haydons Road , the nearest railway station to Wimbledon's original home ground, Plough Lane . Elisabeth Beresford also gave permission for a team of Wombles to run the London Marathon every year raising money for Jesuit Missions UK.

[17] In a special episode of "A Question of Sport" that was themed around the Wimbledon tennis championships, Sue Barker mentioned having asked then team captains Ally McCoist and John Parrott to name their Wimbledon heroes. The replies were "Vinnie Jones" and "Uncle Bulgaria"! In popular culture Barrington Womble MBE (played by John Halsey) is the drummer of the fictional band The Rutles . A spoof of The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr . Various allusions and puns are made in reference to the Wombles in the Warhammer 40,000 book series Ciaphas Cain by author Sandy Mitchell, being referenced in the form of the "Reclaimers" chapter of the Space Marines . The 2005 film Breakfast on Pluto features the Wombles. In the Bottom episode " 's Out ", the main characters Eddie and Richie camp out on Wimbledon common and try hunting Wombles (Eddie mistakes a hedgehog for a womble) to get a meal. They fail. The British comedy The Vicar of Dibley references the Wombles repeatedly.

According to Dawn French 's character Geraldine Granger: "I once tried to go on Mastermind , but they didn't like my special subject. Apparently there just aren't enough questions about the Wombles." The Wombles are vitriolically parodied in The Borrible Trilogy by Michael de Larrabeiti as the Rumbles, the upper-class, rodent-like enemies of the working-class scavenger main characters. The term "womble" is sometimes used in British slang to describe a person who is well-meaning but absent-minded or ineffectual. For example, Jeremy Clarkson often refers to Highways Agency Traffic Officers, who exasperate him as a matter of principle, as "traffic wombles" on Top Gear . In the fifth season of The Ricky Gervais Show , Stephen Merchant compared Ricky Gervais to a Womble while discussing Ricky's experiences as an unemployed artist in the 1980s . During the London Riots of 2011 people started to use the Twitter Hashtag #riotwombles to gather people over social media to help clean up the streets affected by the riots.

[18] On 19 December 2011, the Wombles were featured on an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks . References

Question: Who wrote the 1968 children's book 'The Wombles'?
Answer: Elizabeth Beresford